Question leads to arrest of Rockland men in Scituate

Friday

Aug 1, 2014 at 9:17 AMAug 2, 2014 at 9:45 AM

Ruth Thompson

While trying to find their way to Rockland from Scituate, two men stopped to ask a Scituate police officer for directions. Unfortunately, cans of beer on the console inside the vehicle were clearly visible to the officer, Norton said.

At 9:06 a.m. Thursday, July 17, two men in a gray Hyundai Sonata approached Officer Jeffrey Ciulla who was working a traffic detail at the intersection of Rebecca and Lighthouse roads, Norton said.

“The passenger side window was down and while Officer Ciulla was conversing with one of the occupants, he saw two open cans of beer on the center console of the vehicle,” Norton said.

Norton said Ciulla also noticed that the driver of the vehicle, Jeffrey Lincoln, 20, of 132 West Water Street in Rockland, seemed to be impaired.

As he was working the traffic detail, Ciulla requested a marked unit to the location.

“He detained the vehicle and requested assistance,” Norton said.

Norton said Officers Brendan McAuley and Suzanne McDonough arrived at the scene, and that Lincoln was removed from the vehicle and given a field sobriety test.

“Based on the observation of McDonough, she placed Lincoln under arrest for Operating Under the Influence (OUI),” Norton said.

He was also charged with being a minor transporting alcohol.

Lincoln’s passenger, Jason O’Brien, 19, of 31 Turner Road in Rockland was charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol.

“Detail means there are more officers out on the streets,” Norton said. “Clearly there is a benefit of having more officers out in the streets. This was a good heads-up work by Officer Ciulla. It prevented a potential accident with an impaired driver at 9 a.m. in the morning when there are a lot of people out — joggers, people walking, cyclists, and children. Officer Ciulla took a dangerous driver off the road.”